Empire Cafe

The venue is nice. It looks like a trendy Gastropub bar with mish-​mash of old furniture and new. There are lots of retro lampshades hanging overhead, clocks attached to the wall along with several floating cabinets and sideboards.
The drinks selection is great for a pre-​Hackney Empire beverage but the food seems only a slight step up on my school canteen (pre cooked fish and chips in trays on hot plates, shepherds pie with a big spoon and some ready-​to-​toast paninis). Prices are not steep though, about £3 for a main meal.
Quite simply the food here does not live up to the décor but the drinks do. So grab a coffee or a glass of wine and chill. And if you do get hungry, at least the food isn’t overpriced like most places that look like this so you won’t feel ripped off.
PS — this is also where you will find the Hackney Empire box office these days.

The Empire strikes back!
The Marie Lloyd Bar, part of the iconic Hackney Empire theatre, is gone. In its place is this café/​deli. What’s it offer? Made-​to-​order sarnies, which are expensive but pretty darn tasty. Coffee and cake, also at the upper end of the Mare Street price scale, but you wouldn’t bat an eyelid a few hundred metres across London Fields.
As for the setting itself, it’s more British– than Hackney Empire: high ceilings, dark wood, 20s jazz and smartly dressed staff. The tables are nicely spaced adding to the sophisticated-​but-​laid-​back vibe. It’s a welcome change of pace from packed and trendy cafes of Broadway Market, and a set up in style from the greasy spoons of Mare Street.